Chapter 22
“Eric Anderson!”
Odette ran after the shadowy figure, almost catching him—until squelch!
Her foot sank into something soft and wet.
Only then did she realize she had walked straight into a trap.
She had stepped into a swamp.
The more she tried to pull her foot out, the deeper she sank.
Oh no, what do I do?
She summoned light into her hands, using it to break off a tree branch.
Her plan was to push against the ground and hoist herself up, but the swamp was too deep—the branch couldn’t reach the bottom.
“Big… brother?”
She called out in a friendly tone.
The shadowy figure shifted, moving closer.
She still couldn’t see him through the thick foliage, but she knew he was watching from the trees.
“…Could you help me out?”
Her foot, which had been trapped up to her ankle, had now sunk to her calf.
Soon, she would be waist-deep in the swamp.
“I wasn’t trying to attack you! It just… happened!”
“…….”
“Oh, come on. Help me out!”
Eric didn’t budge.
“You know how to climb trees, but not how to come down? Guess I’ll have to bring you down myself.”
Odette aimed a blast of light toward the spot she assumed he was hiding.
Snap!
A branch broke with a sharp crack, and thud!—the black-cloaked figure fell.
The hooded man tumbled to the ground, landing in a heap with the broken branch.
Peeking out from beneath the hood was golden hair and slender limbs, his pale fingers trembling slightly.
“Ugh…”
“See? If you had come down on your own and helped me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Shut up!”
Now that’s music to my ears.
“Then make me shut up!”
Odette shouted with all her strength.
The desperation in her voice must have startled him because his hooded head tilted slightly.
“…What?”
“I want to disappear! To go somewhere no one can find me!”
In the original story, Caesar never found Eric.
If Eric helped her, she could escape the story completely and avoid being caught by Caesar.
“Let’s be allies. I’m sure I can help you in some way, too. Oh, and I’m sorry for breaking your barrier. That must have been hard to set up.”
“Yeah… it was.”
Inside his hood, pale green eyes blinked slowly.
“I could fix it. If I can tear it, I can probably stitch it back together too.”
Eric hesitated for a moment, then stood up.
“You’re serious about disappearing?”
“Of course. But first, please get me out of here. I’m begging you.”
Eric slowly approached and extended his hand toward her.
It looked like he was actually going to help her out of the swamp.
“Thank you.”
Just as she was about to take his hand—
Rustle! Snap!
Something moved in the bushes, breaking a branch.
Eric flinched in alarm and darted back into the trees.
Then, emerging from the undergrowth was—
A red bird?
No, a giant bird?
A red eagle?
As the figure stepped into full view, she realized—
It wasn’t a bird at all, but a knight with flaming red hair and piercing blue eyes.
“My lady?”
The suspicious-looking red-haired knight blinked in shock and grabbed her wrist.
Then—he yanked her forward with a force strong enough to uproot a radish.
“Ugh!”
Odette was pulled out of the swamp—
And then dragged several feet across the ground.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize my own strength! Are you alright?”
“Ah… Y-Yes.”
Her arm nearly popped out of its socket, but she couldn’t exactly complain.
She had been caught trespassing in the western forest, and now a knight from the Count’s estate had discovered her.
This could cause serious trouble.
And just as she feared—
The knight, still holding onto her wrist, looked at her sternly.
“My lady, what were you doing in a restricted area?”
Behind him, in the branches of a tree, Eric’s pale green eyes glowed in the shadows.
Odette could feel his intense stare burning into her.
She shrugged lightly.
“I saw a cute rabbit and tried to catch it… but I got lost.”
“There are no rabbits in this forest.”
Through the trees, she could see Eric burying his face in his hands, shaking his head.
How was I supposed to know there are no rabbits here?!
She felt slightly wronged, but there was nothing she could do now.
The only choice left was to lie shamelessly and keep up the act.
“Oh! Wait… Now that I think about it… Maybe it was a raccoon!”
“Are raccoons really that cute?”
“Of course! I think raccoons are the cutest creatures in the world.”
Odette sneaked a glance toward Eric.
He had smacked his forehead and was now dramatically pretending to faint.
What now? Don’t tell me raccoons don’t live here either?
The knight in front of her didn’t look pleased, either.
“My lady, no animals live in this forest.”
“T-They don’t?”
“No. This is a dead forest.”
Now that he mentioned it, there weren’t even birds chirping.
The knight was clearly not buying her excuse, and if she didn’t come up with something convincing soon, she would be in trouble.
“Oh my! I had no idea this was a dead forest. I shouldn’t have wandered in… How much will it cost?”
“…For a raccoon?”
“I’m asking how much you want.”
“What exactly are you trying to pay for?”
“Money, of course!”
When word spread that Caesar had returned victorious from the war, the Count had hired mercenaries to protect himself.
He didn’t care about morality or loyalty—as long as they had skill with a sword, he signed a contract.
This knight was probably one of those mercenaries.
“Would one gold coin do?”
“Is that some kind of code? I wasn’t informed of any new signals. Please wait a moment.”
Just then—flap!—a bird swooped down and began circling the red-haired knight.
“You said this was a dead forest, and yet there’s a bird?”
“Oh, that’s a messenger hawk.”
While the knight was distracted, Odette let out a loud shriek.
“Ahhh! I have ornithophobia! Birds terrify me!”
Flailing her arms wildly, she bolted away.
“Lady Odette!”
The red-haired knight, Jacques, shouted after her—
But Odette didn’t spare him a single glance as she ran.
Even with mud-soaked skirts weighing her down and bare feet sinking into the ground, she ran effortlessly.
Lady Odette definitely has a talent for escaping!
After all, she had once evaded Caesar Maes, the Empire’s greatest knight, and slipped past Arden, the commander of the Order.
No ordinary person could have pulled off such a feat—
And yet, after escaping, she had willingly returned to the Anderson estate.
Why would she do something so foolish?
At first, Jacques had been puzzled—
But after observing her, he realized—
Her goal was to bring down the Anderson family.
In that case, she and I are on the same side.
Thanks to Odette, the Count and Countess fought daily, and the estate’s finances had already begun to suffer.
Even Jovern, the scheming steward, was too busy managing her chaos to plot his usual misdeeds.
She’s doing what a dozen spies couldn’t accomplish in weeks!
Even Caesar’s secret informants hadn’t been able to sabotage the Andersons this effectively.
In fact, Odette had done more damage than Jacques himself—she deserved recognition.
Glancing down at the message from the hawk, Jacques muttered,
“Lord Caesar will be arriving tonight… So he’s on his way.”
Then, he remembered something.
What was that about one gold coin?
Had the secret passcode changed without him knowing?
“Ugh! This is disgusting.”
Having barely shaken off the red-haired knight, Odette stumbled into the main hall and brushed the mud off her dress.
Just then—
Crash!
The sharp sound of something shattering rang through the air, followed by Jovern’s furious roar.
“Are you completely useless?! I told you to polish the silver candlestick, not break it!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“A pathetic wretch like you can’t possibly compensate for a silver candlestick!”
It was clear he was berating a maid for dropping an expensive item.
Silver candlesticks were costly, especially since Countess Katarina had ordered them engraved with the family crest.
Jovern wasn’t wrong—
A single candlestick was worth more than a maid’s life in this household.
But that doesn’t mean he can treat her like garbage.
Odette marched toward Jovern.
“What’s going on?”
“My lady?”
Jovern turned, his gaze settling on the mud-stained hem of her dress.
His brow furrowed deeply.
“I warned you about venomous snakes in the forest. And yet, you still went.”
“Turns out, snakes don’t only live in the woods.”
“Is that so?”
Odette’s words carried sharp edges, but Jovern merely brushed them off, clasping his hands behind his back.
“You can’t walk around in that state. I’ll have a bath prepared immediately.”
“Before that—” Odette cut him off, voice firm. “I asked what happened here. Answer me first.”
And if you don’t… you’re going to regret it.
